Siderokastron ( el, Σιδηρόκαστρον) was a medieval fortified settlement on

Mount Oeta Mount Oeta (; el, Οίτη, polytonic , ''Oiti'', also transcribed as ''Oite'') is a mountain in Central Greece. A southeastern offshoot of the Pindus range, it is high. Since 1966, the core area of the mountain is a national park, and much of t ...

Central Greece Continental Greece ( el, Στερεά Ελλάδα, Stereá Elláda; formerly , ''Chérsos Ellás''), colloquially known as Roúmeli (Ρούμελη), is a traditional geographic region of Greece. In English, the area is usually called Central ...

. Siderokastron is first mentioned in the 13th century. Some scholars have identified it with a place on Mount Knemis ( Buchon),

Delphi Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...

Arachova Arachova ( el, Αράχωβα, also Αράχοβα) is a mountain town and a former municipality in the western part of Boeotia. Since the 2011 local government reform it is a municipal unit, part of the municipality Distomo-Arachova-Antikyra. ...

(

Gregorovius Ferdinand Gregorovius (19 January 1821, Neidenburg, East Prussia, Kingdom of Prussia – 1 May 1891, Munich, Kingdom of Bavaria) was a German historian who specialized in the medieval history of Rome. Biography Gregorovius was the son of Neiden ...

), or

Heraclea Trachis Heraclea (Herakleia) in Trachis ( grc, Ἡράκλεια ἡ ἐν Τραχῖνι), also called Heraclea Trachinia (), was a colony founded by the Spartans in 426 BC, the sixth year of the Peloponnesian War. It was also a polis (city-state). Sit ...

( Neroutsos), but based on the description in the ''

Chronicle of the Morea The ''Chronicle of the Morea'' ( el, Τὸ χρονικὸν τοῦ Μορέως) is a long 14th-century history text, of which four versions are extant: in French, Greek (in verse), Italian and Aragonese. More than 9,000 lines long, the ''Chr ...

'', it is most likely to be identified with the ruined fortified settlement on a rocky plateau found on an eastern outlier of

, on the banks of the upper course of the Asopos River near the modern villages of

Pavliani Pavliani ( el, Παύλιανη) is a village on Mount Oeta, and a former community in Phthiotis, Greece. It is divided into two settlements, Pavliani proper or Ano Pavliani (Άνω Παύλιανη) and Nea Pavliani (Νέα Παύλιανη) or Ka ...

and

Koumaritsi Koumaritsi ( el, Κουμαρίτσι) is a village on Mount Oeta in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mé ...

. This identification was made by G. Kolias in 1933. Its name ("Iron Castle" in Greek) possibly derives from the nearby pass of Sideroporta, which gave it a certain strategic importance, as it controlled the mountain roads from the Asopos to the Boeotic Cephissus, and to

Dyo Vouna Dyo Vouna ( el, Δύο Βουνά, meaning "two mountains") is a village on Mount Oeta in Phthiotis, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality of Lamia, and of the municipal unit of Gorgopotamos. Population was ...

. It is one of the castles popularly known as " Kastro tis Orias". Today it is known as "Kouvelos" (Κούβελος). It is first mentioned in 1275 as one of the castles ceded by the ruler of

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thes ...

John I Doukas John I Doukas ( gr, Ἰωάννης Δούκας, Iōánnēs Doúkas), Latinized as Ducas, was an illegitimate son of Michael II Komnenos Doukas, Despot of Epirus in –1268. After his father's death, he became ruler of Thessaly from to his own ...

, to the

Duchy of Athens The Duchy of Athens (Greek: Δουκᾶτον Ἀθηνῶν, ''Doukaton Athinon''; Catalan: ''Ducat d'Atenes'') was one of the Crusader states set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade as part of the ...

, as the dowry of his daughter Helena Angelina Komnene. Sometime between 1318 and 1327, it was conquered by the

Catalan Company The Catalan Company or the Great Catalan Company (Spanish: ''Compañía Catalana'', Catalan: ''Gran Companyia Catalana'', Latin: ''Exercitus francorum'', ''Societas exercitus catalanorum'', ''Societas cathalanorum'', ''Magna Societas Catalanorum' ...

, which had taken over the Duchy of Athens. Except for an (uncertain) brief occupation by

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

raiders in 1367, it remained in the hands of various Catalan families at least up to 1382, and possibly until the Ottoman conquest of the

County of Salona Salona ( grc, Σάλωνα) was an ancient city and the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia. Salona is located in the modern town of Solin, next to Split, in Croatia. Salona was founded in the 3rd century BC and was mostly destroyed in ...

in 1392. After that it lost its importance as a border fortress and was abandoned. Today the site is abandoned and accessible only on foot from Pavliani. Until World War II, large portions of the fortifications survived, but today only a few remnants of two defensive walls, running in north-south direction, survive.

References

Sources

* * Former populated places in Greece Buildings and structures in Phthiotis Ruined castles in Greece Byzantine castles in Central Greece Mount Oeta {{coord, 38, 45, 54.4, N, 22, 24, 13.7, E, region:GR-06, display=title